Egypt, Indonesia report H5N1 cases, fatality

Jun 1, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – Health officials today reported two new H5N1 avian influenza cases, in an Egyptian woman who died from the disease and in an Indonesian toddler who is recovering.

Egypt's health ministry said the 30-year-old woman from Alexandria governorate got sick on Apr 26 and was hospitalized on May 3, where she was placed on a ventilator and received oseltamivir (Tamiflu), according to a report today from the World Health Organization (WHO). She died on May 9.

An investigation into the source of her illness revealed she had been exposed to poultry that had suspected avian influenza. Her case is Egypt's 144th, and her death is the country's 48th from the disease.

Indonesia's health ministry recently announced an H5N1 infection in a 14-month-old North Jakarta boy who has recovered. The ministry said in a translated report that he came down with flu symptoms on Apr 3 and was referred to an avian influenza referral hospital on Apr 8, where he received intensive treatment and was diagnosed as having bronchopneumonia.

If the boy's illness is confirmed by the WHO, he will be listed as Indonesia's 178th H5N1 case-patient, of whom 146 died from the disease.

An epidemiological investigation into the boy's illness found that a week before he got sick he had visited a poultry market in his neighborhood where he held a free-range chicken, according to report. The health ministry said it has informed the WHO about the case.

Final confirmation of the boy's infection, plus the official announcement of Egypt's latest illness and death, would push the global H5N1 count to 555 cases, including 324 deaths.